Three men charged in a double-murder case carrying a potential death penalty pleaded not guilty to the offenses stemming from a fatal 2017 robbery spree in Oxnard.

Joseph Martinez, 19, entered the plea in Ventura County Superior Court on Monday morning. His co-defendants, Joel Montijo, 22, and David Flores, 20, pleaded not guilty on Thursday, according to court records.

The trio from Oxnard is accused of committing a series of robberies in less than an hour on May 16, with two of the alleged crimes ending in the fatal shootings of Aaron Austin, 29, and Eduardo Leon, 23. Both men were returning to their homes in Oxnard when they were gunned down in an alley.

The shooting that claimed Austin’s life was reported to police about 9:15 p.m. in the 300 block of North G Street. Leon was found dead about 5:30 a.m. May 17 in the 5400 block of Perkins Road, but police suspected he was killed between 9 and 9:30 p.m. the night before.

Austin was an emergency medical technician and had moved to Oxnard from the Bay Area. Leon moved from Mexico to Oxnard, where he worked as a laborer and sent money home to his parents. Both Austin and Leon were also fathers.

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The men suspected of killing them were arrested in February and each was charged with two counts of murder and three counts of second-degree robbery, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.

Each also faces special circumstances alleging there were multiple murder victims and the murders were committed while engaged in a robbery, prosecutors said. If convicted, the charges could land them a sentence of death or life in prison without the possibility of parole, prosecutors said.

Despite there being no connection between the victims, Oxnard police suspected the two killings were related due to the location and time of night they were reported.

The break in the case came from a single fingerprint that led to Montijo as a possible suspect. Detectives soon discovered Montijo regularly associated with Flores. As for Martinez, he’s Montijo’s cousin, police said.

Martinez was also the owner of a black BMW that looked like the one caught on surveillance video and suspected to be associated with the homicides, police said.

All three suspects are due back in court in May for an early disposition conference.